Washing machine provided with loading and unloading passageway



April 1952 o. M. ANDERSON 2,594,112

WASHING MACHINE PROVIDED WITH LOADING AND UNLOADING PASSAGEWAY Filed April 25, 1947 050 49 MA/VDEPGON Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITED STATES PATET OFFICE WASHING MACHINE PROVIDED WITH LOAD- IN G AND UNLOADIN G PASSAGEWAY Application April 25, 1947, Serial No. 743,843

The present invention relates to laundry machines of the type having a tub and rotatable drum assembly resiliently mounted for vibrational and gyrating movement within a casing, and more particularly to a loading and unloading passageway between the casing and tub of such machines which is effective and has many advantages for the purpose intended and which does not interfere in any way with the operation of the machine.

In laundry machines of the type referred to the tub unit comprising a tub and a basket journaled therein is subjected to various vibrations and gyratory actions which are largely due, for example, to unbalanced conditions as when the fabrics are not uniformly distributed within the basket. The present invention is particularly applied to laundry machines of this sort which are provided with resilient mounting means for permitting and absorbing such relative movements of the tub unit with respect to the casing in any 'clirection in the plane of rotation of the tub unit as well as some endwise movement of the tub unit. It may be pointed out, in addition, that in laundry machines of such construction and mounting the tub unit will generally move from an upper fluid extraction position to a lower washing position upon the admission of a cleanmg fluid to the tub and also dependent to some extent upon the weight of the clothes placed therein.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a loading and unloading passageway between the casing and the tub unit which will permit said gyratory movements of the tub unit with respect to the casing and which will be effective at any of the different spacings between drained therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a passageway which will not interfere with the action or movements of the tub unit, which is not dependent on flexible or foldable connect ors and the like which might be likely to deteriorate or malfunction, particularly after long periods of hard usage.

A further object of the invention is to provide a loading and unloading passageway between the casing and tub unit which is of pleasing, streamlined appearance, which provides an attractive and utilitarian housing in which the door or other opening means for the tub unit may be 3 Claims. (01. 68-24) cleaning fluid and when the cleaning fluid is pivoted, and which will retain an immaculate and sanitary appearance over long periods of time.

A further object of the invention is to provide a passageway construction of the type described which, although forming no positive engagement between the casing and tub unit, will insure that no drainage from clothes being introduced or removed from the tub, nor the clothes themselves, can pass inside the casing or otherwise come into contact with the mechanical elements of the machine.

A further object is to provide a passageway construction, as described, which is simple and economical to manufacture and to assemble and disassemble.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the fea-- tures of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be eXempli fled in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be in dicatecl in the app-ended claims.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a fragmentary view partially in cross Section through the center of the machine embodying the invention; and

Fig. 2- is a, top view of the machine partially cut away and in cross section to show the mount"- ing of the tub unit.

In the drawing, the machine embodying the present invention is housed in a casing 9 formed of an upper section an and a lower section H joined together at flanges l2. A supporting frame 8 is provided within the casing section II. The tub unit denoted generally by the reference numeral l 3 and comprising a tub l4 and. a rotat able basket 15 journaled therein is mounted horizontally within the casing. The means for mounting the tub unit 13 is only partially shown in the drawing and may comprise any suitable mounting means for permitting gyrationial movement of the tub unit [3 many direction in the plane of rotation of the basket l5 while restricting and damping same. In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the tub unit I 3 is mounted on a frame member 30 which is suspended from the frame 8 by means of springs 3| which resiliently support the tub structure and absorb the vibrational forces so that they are not transmitted to the frame 8 and hence to the floor. Damping units comprising a pair of links 32 pivotally connected to each other and to the frame 8 through friction washers 33 limit the amplitude of vibration of the tub structure, ,The

In accordance with the invention, the tub unit I3 is constructed and arranged to permit the loading and unloading of clothes to and from the basket [5 through a horizontal opening [6 in the top of the casing section I0. The horizontal opening I6 is provided with a downwardly extending peripheral flange I! which is slightly curved at It where it joins the periphery of the opening H3 in order to provide a pleasing, stream-lined appearance and in order to be sure that there will be no snagging or catching of the clothes being inserted or withdrawn from the machine and also to provide a surface which is easy to clean andfrom which the coating mate rial, such as porcelain, will not be likely to chip or mar.

The downwardly extending flange H is received in telescopic fashion within the upturned extremity IQ of a flange 28 which is secured to the periphery of an opening 2! at the top of the tub M, which opening is slightly smaller than the opening it in the casing 9 and which is adapted to substantially register with the open ing IE5 when the machine is at rest. The flange 20 is curved inwardly at 22 to form a substantially horizontal shelf extending underneath the clothes are inserted or withdrawn will be (ii-- rected into the opening 2 I.

Inwardly of the shelf portion 22 the flange 20 is turned downwardly at 23 to provide a seat for a door 24 which is hingedly secured to the shelf portion 22 by hinges 25 and is latch-ed thereto by handle operated latch 26. The door 24 is provided with a suitable rubber gasket 21 to insure a water-tight fit between the door 24 and the seat 23. As will be apparent from the drawing, the door 24 is smaller than the opening i6 in the casing 9 and may readily be pivoted to and fro within the enclosure provided by the flange IT. The basket I5 is provided with a closure member 28 which may be opened to provide access to the interior of the basket l5 and which is adapted to register with the opening 2i in the tub l4 and hence with the opening it in the casing 9 at apredetermined rotated position of the basket. l5. By reason of the abovedescribed construction, a passageway is provided between the casing 9 and the tub unit l3 which is fully enclosed by the flange ll or by the flanges i! and 20. During the operation of the device, there is provided a sufficient overlapping of the flanges HT and 20 so that the tub unit l3 may move from an upper fluid extracting position to a lower washing position without opening the passageway, i. e., vertically separating the flanges I! and 20, and at the same time there is provided suiflcient spacing between the flanges H and 20 so that there will be no engaging or binding between these flanges when the tub unit [3 undergoes the gyratory and vibrational movements previously referred to.

Even though there is no positive engagement between the opening in the casing and the opening in the tub structure, the only gap in the passageway is at the periphery of the upward extremity I9 of the flange 29 which is adequately protected by reason of its position well above the lower edge of the flange 11 to effectively prevent water or dirt from getting into the casing, and also to prevent any clothes being inserted or withdrawn through the passageway from passing into the interior of the casing. At the same time, the flange 20 provides an efiective seat for a closure member for the tub unit and provides a drainage area emptying into the tub unit opening so that the loading and unloading of wet or damp clothes will have no deleterious effects on the machine. The passageway provided is of pleasing appearance and may readily be kept in sightly and sanitary condition. 4

It thus will be seen that, in accordance with the invention, there has been provided a simple and effective arrangement for permitting the loading and unloading of clothes to the tub unit of the machine which is eflective regardless of the raised or lowered position of the tub unit and'which will not interfere in any way with the normal operation of the machine. At the same time, the loading and unloading passageway is entirely effective for preventing moisture or dirt from passing into the casing sections [0 and l I which might cause damage to the operatingparts.

The device is simple and easy to manufacture and has no elements which can malfunction even after long periods of hard usage.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a'limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a laundry machine, a stationary outer casing having a top and sides, a horizontal tub structure having a longitudinal axis, said tub structure being resiliently mounted within the casing for limited movement relative to the easing in a plane radial to said axis including movement from an upper fluid extracting position to a lower washing posit-ion upon the admission of cleaning fluid to the tub, a basket rotatably 60.

mounted in saidtub, an inwardly turned flange on the top of the casing forming a loading and unloading opening through the top of the casing, a flangeon the tub having a laterally extending portion disposed underneath and spaced from the lowerextremity of said casing flange, and a peripheral extension on said horizontal portion telescopically surrounding the casing flange and spaced therefrom whereby said relative movements of the tub structure are permitted, said tub being formed with an opening registering with said casing opening. 7

2. In a laundry machine, a stationary outer casing having a top and sides, a horizontal tub structure having a longitudinal axis, said tub structure being resiliently mounted within the casing for limited movement relative to the easing in a plane radial to said axis including movement from an upper fluid extracting position to a lower Washing position upon the admission of cleaning fluid to the tub, a basket rotatably mounted in said tub, an inwardly turned flange on the top of the casing forming a loading and unloading opening through the top of the casing, a flange on the tub having a laterally extending portion disposed underneath and spaced from the lower extremity of said casing flange, a peripheral extension on said horizontal portion telescopically surrounding the casing flange and spaced therefrom whereby said relative movements of the tub structure are permitted, said tub being formed with an opening registering with said casing opening, said horizontal portion of the tub flange forming a seat for a door, and a door hingedly secured to the tub flange to seat thereon and to pivot within the opening formed by said casing flange.

3. In a laundry machine, a stationary outer casing having a top and side walls, a tub structure resiliently mounted within said casing for substantial but limited movement relative to said casing, an inwardly turned flange integral with the top wall of said casing forming a loading and unloading opening through the top of said casing, a flange on the tub having a laterally extending portion disposed underneath and spaced from the lower extremity of said casing flange, a peripheral extension on said horizontal portion telescopically surrounding said casing flange and spaced therefrom whereby relative movements of said tub structure are permitted, said tub being formed with an opening registering with the cas ing opening, said horizontal portion of said tub flange forming seat for a door, and a door hingedly secured to said tub flange to seat thereon and to pivot within the opening formed by said casing flange.

OSCAR M. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED S'IATES PATENTS 

